Japanese Knotweed
There has been recent publicity concerning the proposed
release of Aphalara itadori, which feeds exclusively (or virtually so) on
Japanese knotweed. A considerable amount of research has been undertaken,
which may be summarized as: it only feeds on Japanese knotweed and when the
population levels are high enough will weaken the knotweed plants and reduce
their vigor by sucking the sap. Hopefully this will also reduce the spread
of the knotweed into new areas. Additionally the psyllids were not able to
successfully reproduce on any other tested species.
So why should Wreford as knotweed contractors support this initiative? Well
most Japanese knotweed infestations are never treated. In fact there is far
more knotweed growing in this country than is ever treated. I personally
have visited several sites over the years, where the knotweed covers
hectares in large stands and is still not being treated. I have also visited
several towns and communities, where knotweed is covering over 25% of the
available land area and little or no control measures are (apparently) in
place. This would be the future for all of us, unless new legislation is
passed forcing all landowners to treat invasive weeds on their land or
biological control is introduced. Who would pay for the chemical control of
knotweed? It would run into hundreds of millions of pounds every year for
years, perhaps decades.
Obviously there are risks to biological agents being released. The main
risks that are cited are that we don't know what will or will not happen.
Once released, that will be that. If it all goes wrong, there may not be a
realistic prospect of exterminating the released psyllids. The human species
has only ever exterminated one pest insect - the Rocky Mountain Locust - and
that was an accident! We also know that related species of Psyllid have the
ability to travel (although it is a weak flyer, it migrates using wind
currents) hundreds of miles in one year, so it is probable that the insect
will naturally travel over the English Channel into France, Germany, etc,
where they have a similar knotweed problem. While I am confident that the
research done to date is good, it has focused on the British Isles. How far
will the psyllids spread? What will be the impact on native species in
mainland Europe? These are questions that need addressing and to date (to my
knowledge) have not been adequately answered.
As a contractor and conservation volunteer, I understand that we need
biological control to have any chance of maintaining our countries
biodiversity against rapidly spreading invasive weeds, but before we release
another species into our ecosystem, we need to understand that we are not
isolated geographically and whether our introduction of new species will or
will not impact upon other countries biodiversities. We need to ensure that
we are not causing long term problems to our neighbors or to ourselves. I
would ask that we establish how far the psyllids are likely to spread and
what the risks (if any) to native flora within this range are.
About the Author
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